1st Timers Review CSA

I wanted to post this because as a "newbie" I have stalked this message board since Feb. I visited Oct. 3rd-7th for my birthday. I must say that we had a room in the Great House. 5206 to be exact....wonderful view. You could see the ocean, and see who was at the pool bar. The room was simple but very clean. Each person that we came in contact with that worked there was so nice and seemed very happy to work there. It actually made me feel bad that I couldn't tip them but we did tip with mini snickers.

Here is my one and only complaint but was a deal breaker for my fiance. My fiance does not fly. We always drive to a port and cruise every year. I finally convinced him to do this trip and after countless hours of research I chose this place. His only concern for me booking anywhere was that he could get his Hennessy or Grey Goose. Needless to say he was pissed. I did not let him buy duty free alc from the airport because I was positive that they would have it. Well the only place they have premium liquor is the martini bar which is only open from 6-10pm.....false advertisement in my opinion. Oh and they ran out of the good stuff really quick. There was no restocking until the next day. Personally it did not make or break my trip but for him it did.

That sucks. I've been hearing about the good stuff running out quickly. I hope it's just a fluke. Did you happen to say anything about the lack of the top shelf liquor? I've seen other comment that they have told staff that they would really like this or that and the staff actually gets it for them. It's too bad your husband was caught up on that one inconsistency. I think it's true paradise.

Bob likes Cognac as a night cap and we always find it at the Patois bar at CSA. Never even thought to look for it at the Martini Bar. In seven trips to Couples, we've never seen them run out of Cognac. You can find Cognac at any of the bars (although it might not be Hennessy) they also have Courvoisier and I've also seen Remy Martin. Personally, I think Cognac is overpriced brandy, but as Bob says, "If it's good enough for Napolean, it's good enough for me!" As far as the Grey Goose, your fiance does realize that all premium (non-flavored) vodka has absolutely no flavor? Again, while they may run out of Grey Goose, I have never seen them run out of premium vodka. Even the beach bars will have some sort of high end vodka, such as Ketel One or Stolichnaya. So I must politely disagree with your assessment that it is false advertising. As long as they provide premium options, even if it is not your particular brand, I don't see how that is false advertising.

I was at CSA in August and yes they did "run out" of Appleton VX at the beach bar at noon. Why? There was a guy who kept ordering Pepsi and VX's for his entire group. When they did run out of the VX he became upset and finally "settled" with Crown.

The fact of the matter is that people basically waste good brands on mixed drinks when they don't need to. Because of this Couples allocates a specific number of bottles to different bars each day, I believe. You can tell because the bottles of liquor have a sticker on them saying "Sunset bar" or whatnot. It is a shame because then the individual who wants VX on the rocks must find where it is still in stock.

Again, that being said the martini bar always has the best top-shelf collection, Aura normally has a pretty well stocked bar, as does the Palms.